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Hover Barge
Hover Barges, or just "Barges", are vehicles manufactured by the Garage for 250 Iridium. A Hover Barge is like a platform, with two horizontal tanks at the side, a seat and an input pipe under the seat. The tanks are the barge's fuel supply; if they run out, the barge stops hovering and falls until Iridium is supplied again. The tanks will always have the same amount of Iridium in them; they get drained at the same time. The barge can carry up to 250 units of Iridium in its fuel tank, plus 50 from a Distributor Cap. When a brand new Hover Barge is manufactured, it comes out of the Garage with very little Iridium in its tank, however, it is still enough to keep the Barge hovering for a minute or two. To refuel the Barge, a Pipe, Distributor Cap, or another power supply needs to be connected to the barge's input pipe. Due to the location of the opening, using a Distributor Cap is recommended and widely used. Just like terrain and other Structures, the Hover Barge can be destroyed if enough damage is inflicted. Barges can also be repaired by users or by Automechanics. Like the name suggests, the Hover Barge hovers; it does not fly, which makes it a ground vehicle. It needs to have some kind of surface underneath it for it to hover. This means that if a Barge flies out beyond the Mainland, it will fall into the Iridium Ocean. However, as long as it still has power, it will hover above the Ocean. Unfortunately, the process of getting it back up is very time consuming if not done right, and therefore it is often easier to just make a new one. What makes Hover Barges useful is the fact that players are able to build structures onto Barges, and thus are able to create assault machines and "tanks". Placing Turrets on the bottom of Barges is common, and Condensers are the most popular power source. However, due to the minimal amount of Iridium that Condensers produce, using Transceivers is also very popular. Hover Barges are sensitive to impulse forces. Weapons such as Rocket Launchers, Cruise Missiles, and Artillery explosions will send them flying away if they aren't anchored. However, building items onto a Barge will increase it's total mass, thus making it more resistant to explosions. unfortunately, even very large Barge Bases are still vulnerable to Rocket Launcher explosions. Also, because of the Artillery's recoil, a Barge will fling away when an Artillery is fired from it. Thankfully, this can be countered by placing a Spatial Anchor on the Barge. Barges can be operated by using the usual WASD keys, plus E and Q, which increased and decrease the hover level. The barge has 4 Hover Levels - 0, 1, 2 and 3, and the Hover Height and Hover Cost are calculated using the formulas Hover Height = 5 studs * Hover Level and Hover Cost = 0.5 Iridium/second * Hover Level. This means that at a Hover Level of 0, the Barge doesn't hover and doesn't consume anything, and at the maximum Hover Level, the Barge hovers 15 studs above ground and consumes 1.5 Iridium per second. The Barge changes Hover Levels fairly quickly, faster than in a second, meaning that Shield Generators will turn off when changing Hover Levels. The Barge used to have a speed of 48, which was twice as fast as a running player. However, it was recently changed to 24, which made it unable to outrun a running soldier in flat terrain. Due to complaints, the Barge was given a 2-second speed boost which can be activated by holding Shift, and takes 5 seconds to recharge. While boosted, barges can achieve the original speed of 48. Pros & Cons Pros * Fairly easily maneuverable * Somewhat cheap to manufacture * 1 Condenser can supply the barge with enough Iridium to constantly sustain itself, if at ground level * Can attach weapons to easily attack enemy fortresses * Useful to transport large teams across the battlefield with ease * Can easily cross small- and medium-sized gaps between Derricks. * Cannot be hit easily if it is in motion * Can easily get Iridium from home base via Transceivers. Cons * Little space (Can be expanded with blocks, bridges, etc.) * Structures can cause the Barge to fling out of control * Getting a barge up to the Mainland after it has fallen is very difficult * Requires a very large number of condensers to successfully attack with Turrets/Arc Turrets and remain hovering. Even 10+ Condensers cannot supply enough Iridium to power the barge to remain hovering AND to operate Artillery * A single shot from an explosive Weapon can fling a barge off the Mainland * Somewhat floaty, drifting flight can make it difficult to drive. * Somewhat slow - only the speed of a running soldier __TOC__ The Types of Barges There are many different ways to use a Hover Barge. In this section is a list of almost all the different ways that Barges can be efficiently used. Assault Barges The most common type of Barge, also called "Battlebarges". These are heavily armed, self-sustainable barges equipped with Turrets and other weapons. They usually have 1-3 Condensers, many Turrets and Point Defenses on the bottom, some Arc Turrets on the top/bottom, Distributors, Tanks, Shield Generators, Spatial Anchors and Transceivers. They are made for combat, as the Turrets automatically shoot any players below. Some are even armed with Artillery cannons, at which point they are usually called "Arty Barges". Because of the huge cost running weapons, Artillery and a Shield Generator, they may have 1-2 Condensers, but their main source of Iridium is usually a Transceiver. They can be covered up using Platform Blocks or Bridges, and are very dangerous and effective if built and used correctly. Like every other Barge, their main weakness is counterattack via explosive weapons, especially the Rocket Launcher. Because they are made for combat situations, they might have an Automechanic on board as well. Transportation Barges These Barges are cheap, quick and small. They serve the sole purpose of transporting players from one place to another. They are usually are un-armed, but occasionally they have a single Turret or Arc Turret for self-defense. On board are 2-3 Condensers, a Distributor, a Spatial Anchor (to "park" the Barge), and if there are many people on the team, several Seats. They might have some Light Sources too. Another good idea to put on such barges are Boost Pads on top of a 45° Wedge to "deploy" soldiers across gaps. Undercover Barges These Barges are made for sneaking up on the enemy. They need to be very compact, quick and silent. All they typically have on board are 2 Condensers connected directly via a pipe to the fuel pipe; the Distributor's bright lines might give it away. They are mostly used to hover low above the Ocean, glide to an enemy base from under, and then let the user sneak up on the enemy and infiltrate them. Sometimes, these barges with be covered in Blocks, especially Slab Blocks and Platform Blocks to help camouflage them with the surroundings. These also do not have Turrets, as the Turret shooting would give them away. If they are armed, it would be with Arc Turrets. Sometimes, these have a Valve at the fuel pipe, so they can be easily disposed of to not give the user away. Support Barges Support Barges are miscellaneous Barges used for various purposes. They usually have little weapons but are equipped with Spawn Points, Arsenals, Distributors and other useful structures which assist players in attacking or defending a point. They range from very simple to elaborate mini-bases. Builder Barges These barges are meant to assist in quickly building bases. They mostly consist of Condensers, Tanks, a Fabricator, and a Spatial Anchor. They are parked beside a good location for a base, and then the Fabricator builds the blueprints while the players can focus on defending their Barge. They are also used to quickly create Skybases, as the player then does not have to go up and down the ladder to build things and also used to make Priority Beacons as you do not need to set up a whole new base for the beacon to be build. Anti-Skybase Barges These are specialized Barges designed for attacking Skybases. They consist of many Tanks, several Arsenals, some Condensers, and a Spatial Anchor. They are able to quickly bombard Skybases with a high amount of Cruise Missiles, as those are the most effective weapons for taking down Skybases. Because the Cruise Missile has a higher range than the Artillery, the attacker can safely stand out of the Skybase's range, and when the attacker spots a Cruise Missile incoming, because they are slow, they can simply un-park their Barge and move to dodge the incoming Missile. Base Barges Base Barges, also called Barge Bases, are very large and somewhat elaborate bases built on one or more Barges. They can be fairly small or very large. They are the base of Edge Baseing, but can also fill the role of Turtling. They are hard to infiltrate because of their massive size but need to remain stationary to maintain shields and have limited internal Iridium production. Like all Barges, when on the move, they are still vulnerable to explosions. Bore Barges These are expensive, but somewhat plain Barges made solely for destroying bases. They consist of a Barge with a Transceiver and a Bore. The operator sets the Bore's target and then starts driving around the base, boring it while being difficult to hit. However, they are very expensive and blocking their Transceiver beam can render them useless for a short while. Transceiver Barges Transceiver Barges are fairly uncommon Barges made to transport Iridium. They consist of a Transceiver connected to a Small Tank and a Spacial Anchor. Their purpose is to de deployed somewhere and act as a link in a more complex transceiver system. For example, they are able to direct a transceiver beam around tall Spires which would otherwise block it. There is another variant of this Barge, sometimes called a "Satellite Barge", which has the above equipment on a tall ladder. It is then positioned, the anchor turned off and the ladder destroyed, and it makes a "satellite" which is able to transfer Iridium across large distances with ease. Suicide Barges Suicide Barges are very cheap, disposable, cruel, but effective Barges that have pretty much nothing on them. They consist of plain barges, filled up at a base, with many Satchel Charges on the bottom. The user quickly flies the Barge to the enemy base, lands, and then detonates all the charges, killing themselves in the process. Due to how many explosives can fit on the Barge, a we-l placed suicide Barge can deal very high damage, clearing off almost an entire base. However, care needs to be taken to avoid landing the barge near Arc Turrets, as those will destroy the Satchel Charges. Bomber Barges Bomber Barges are rarely used Barges similar to suicide Barges. They usually consist of a simple barge with a Condenser or two connected to the Barge's fuel tank. The Barge has a severely damaged pipe sticking out of the side that the player places Satchel Charges on. Then they hover above an enemy base, destroys the pipe and activates the charges. Once they land on the ground, they will explode, easily dealing large, spread out damage, but once again, care needs to be taken to drop the Charges far away from any Arc Turrets. Bomber Barges might not always drop Satchel Charges. They can also drop Light Sources to help illuminate the surroundings for attacking players. Category:Vehicles